Updated | Sicilian mafioso Sebastiano Brunno arrested in Malta, to be extradited

Crime conference on the arrest of Sicilian mafioso Sebastiano Brunno

Sicilian mafioso Sebastiano Brunno, 56 years, has been arrested by Maltese police from the International Relations Unit.

The criminal had been wanted since 2009, and was arrested today Thursday in a public place in Bugibba at around 1pm.

A fake Italian identity card was found in his possession. According to the Italian police, Brunno was attempting to pass off as a 49-year-old male from Palermo.

Maltese police spent three months tracking him down. They are now trying to establish how he entered Malta in the first place.

The operation was coordinated by the Catania antimafia unit, who participated in the arrest. The Maltese police operation included its intelligence unit, criminal investigation units, the drug squad. Police officers from Catania and Syracuse participated in the operation.

A provisional arrest warrant was issued for Brunno, pending an extradition request.

Brunno is considered to be the current head of the Nardo cosca.

Brunno has to face a life sentence in an Italian hail for Mafia association and a 2009 homicide.

This is not the first time that Italians criminal are arrested in Malta, or on their way to enter Malta.

In August, Camorra boss Aldo Gionta, 42 - wanted since May - was arrested by Italian police as he was boarding a catamaran to Malta.

When he was stopped, trying to blend in among the tourists, he was arrested together with three other accomplices, aged 23, 32, and 38, all from the Torre Annunziata clan of Sant’Antonio Abate, with a fake ID and €1,000 in cash.

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